European Borders and Border Regions in Comparison

PhD and student seminar

The PhD and student seminar "European Borders and Border regions in comparison" took place 28.09 till 30.09 in the Nordseeakademie in Leck, Germany, lead by Prof. Dr. Charlotte Gaitanides (Europa-Universität Flensburg) and Dr. habil. Katarzyna Stoklosa (Syddansk Universitet).

The participants from Denmark, Poland and Germany were guided through the program by the experts from Universität Flensburg, Syddanks Universitet, Technische Universität Dresden and from the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI).

The objective of the seminar was to examine the similarities and differences between the German-Danish and the German-Polish border regions and to find new perspectives regarding the topic "European borders". Furthermore the legal principles and problems of the external borders of the European Union, in particular the EU asylum laws, the role of the EU agency Frontex and the European identity formation of non-European elites was discussed. The aim of the organizers was, in addition to the scientific and technical discussions, to get the participants to share their personal experiences. There were many opportunities to discuss the topics, ask questions and share experiences not only in the context of various academic panels but also during the wide-ranging social activities. As a part of these activities, all of the participants were taken on a sunny ferry ride with the ferry "Jürgensby" on Flensburg Fjord and past the Ox islands.

The conference was sponsored by the Foundation for Polish-German cooperation.